Remarkably, it's possible our athletes can get even better.

The Illawarra finished with four gold, two silver and four bronze, with Emma McKeon accounting for the majority of those medals.

Read more: Matthew Dunn's path to Group 1 win for Subterranean starts at Kembla Grange

Perhaps the biggest opportunity for greater success lies with our hockey teams, Grace Stewart's Hockeyroos missing out on a medal after a shock quarter-final exit.

The Kookaburras were forced to settle for silver, losing to Belgium in a shootout in the gold-medal match.

Stewart is just 24-years-old, while Blake Govers is 25 and Flynn Ogilvie 27, with Heath Ogilvie telling the Mercury last week that this Australian men's hockey team is primed to be even better in Paris in three years time.

"This is a young core, so they should be pretty excited about what can be achieved over the next three years," Ogilvie said. "They should be quite pleased it's only three years away.

"They'll have a Commonwealth Games and World Cup in that time, so there will be plenty of practice in the lead up, unlike Tokyo.

"It's a young core, they should be confident heading into the next three years."

One of the breakout stars of the Games was Kieran Woolley, the 17-year-old impressing in the men's skateboard park event.

The fifth-place finish marks a considerable improvement on 31st at the 2018 World Championships and if he continues to progress at the rate he's shown, Woolley will be in the mix for a medal in Paris.

"Three years is a long time for a young fella, but I can only imagine he'll come out of this with new confidence," Woolley's dad Mark said.

"This was the first final in international competition he's made. To make the final of the Olympics and do as well as he did is a big confidence booster. I expect we'll see his skateboarding really take off."

At the other end of the spectrum is Shane Rose, the Berry product winning a team eventing silver.

At 48, Rose's age pales in comparison to teammate Andrew Hoy, the 62-year-old planning on continuing to Brisbane in 2032.

Rose will likely have to find himself another horse, with Virgil approaching retirement.

That shouldn't be an issue, given he makes a living educating both racehorses and equestrian horses as owner of Bimbadeen Park.

Our track and field athletes have each declared a desire to be at their peak in Paris, Sarah Carli's preparations derailed by a life-threatening accident in the gym, while Jye Edwards has only recently overcome a serious Achilles injury and Jessica Hull just keeps getting better.

Back to McKeon and the future is less clear.

At 27, the star is a veteran in the youthful sport of swimming. Coach Michael Bohl has expressed confidence she can keep getting better in the years to come.

The question McKeon will have to answer is how much does she want it. Having reached the top of the Olympic mountain, desire and motivation will determine if she has another three years in her.

It's a subject, however, the swimmer is yet to ponder.

"I'm just trying to get past these next few days really, I'm not really thinking about swimming," McKeon said last week.